Paper compactor and bundler

ABSTRACT

A device is described which allows efficient and convenient compaction of papers, magazines and the like. The device consists of a rectangular container having an adjustable compression lever therein for compacting the papers into bundles, means for retaining the compression lever in the compressed state, means for encircling the bundle with a strand or wire and means for securing the ends of said strand or wire.

ilnited States Patent [191 Mechler PAPER COMPACTOR AND BUNDLER [76] Inventor: John L. Mechler, P. O. Box 341,

Norris, Ind. 37828 May 14, 1973 Appl. N0.: 359,867

947 Storey......... 951 Dankert..

[22] Filed:

I Primary ExaminerBilly J. Wilhite 52 us. 100/25, 100/31, 100/34, Attorney, Agent Firm-Herman HOISOPP1e 100/219, 100/233, 100/293, 140/118 [51] Int. B651) 13/04 [57] ABSTRACT [58} Field of Search......... 100/1, 3, 25, 31, 34, 219,

1 00/233 240, 274477, 293 A device is described which allows efficient and con venient compaction of papers, magazines and the like. The device consists of a rectangular container havin an adjustable compression lever therein for compac References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ing the papers into bundles, means for retaining the compression lever in the compressed state, means for encircling the bundle with a strand or wire and means for securing the ends of said strand or wire.

lAfi/l IR :iiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiilii:

100/293 X Doud I ll Illlll|ll|\ Fowler....................

896 Clapp...... 909 'Rohrer.....................,......

Din-lunar PAIENTED 01974 SHEET 2 [IF 2 Flg. 4.

Flg. 5.

PAPER COMPACTOR AND BUNDLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention described herein relates to the storage Dankert, U.S. Pat. No. 2,575,048; D. D. Price, U.S..

Pat. No. 2,521,126; C. O. Bailar, U.S. Pat. No. 2,839,990; M. B. Seligman, U.S. Pat. No. 1,720,449;D. D. Price, U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,016; E. E. Elrod, U.S. Pat. No. 3,171,347; R. L. Binder, U.S. Pat. No. 1,254,878; A. Sherer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,432; and H. H. Burns, U.S. Pat. No. 1,250,558.

Current concern over the waste of natural resources has brought about an increased awareness of the amount of paper discarded which might profitably be reused. Out of some 50 million tons of paper produced in the United States each year less than million tons are being reclaimed for recycle. Practically no paper is reclaimed from municipal refuse even though approximately one half of such refuse consists of paper products.

It has been estimated that by doubling the amount of reused waste paper in the United States over million cords of wood or the annual growth of 15 million acres of land could be saved. Increasingly, paper manufacturers are developing the technology to enable them to produce 100 percent reprocessed paper at prices competitive with paper made from virgin fiber and of similar quality.

Because waste paper is an important resource and because, on the average, each person in the United States discards about 575 pounds of paper annually, a need exists for a convenient, low-cost, paper collection and bundling device whereby individuals may become personally involved in the solid waste recycling effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A principal object of the subject invention is to provide a household device which may conveniently be used for the collection, storage, and compacting of newspapers and magazines whereby the compacted papers may be more easily transported.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bin and paper compactor which is of simple construction and which may thereby be economical to manufacture.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a bin and paper compactor which is strong and structurally able to withstand the compressive forces used to bundle newspapers yet is light enough to be easily portable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bin and paper compactor which will permit convenient bundling of paper into bales without removing said paper from the bin.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bin and paper compactor which might easily be incor porated into a functional article of furniture such as a foot stool or end table and which might thereby serve two purposes.

The invention, accordingly, comprises the apparatus possessing the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure and the scope of which will be indicated in the foregoing claims.

Further features and objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention partly broken away the better to show the construction thereof.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device of 'FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 1 taken as of the line 33 in FIG. 2 to show compression being applied to a stack of newspapers or the like.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2 taken as of the line 44 showing operational details of the compression bar retaining ratchet.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the wire winding tool utilized in this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Having reference to the drawings in detail there is presented in FIG. 1 a perspective view of the invention showing a rectangular box of a size somewhat larger than a folded newspaper comprising a bin or body portion 10 and a cover portion 11 which may be manufactured from wood or metal or formed by molding a plastic composition. The body portion 10 comprises a base 12, two end walls 13, a front wall 14 and 'a rear wall 15. Cover portion 11 is attached by hinges 9 to rear wall 15. Disposed on the inner surface of rear wall 15 are two vertical ratchets 16 having a plurality of teeth 17 on one surface, said teeth slanted at an angle of approximately 45 toward base 12 and facing toward front wall 14 whereby compression lever 20 having a rear ratchet-engaging portion 21 may be engaged therein.

Compression lever 20 consists, preferably, of a rectangularly shaped metal frame having said rear ratchetengaging member 21 connected to a front pressing bar 22 by two side members 23.

In the preferred embodiment front wall 14 is providedwith two vertical openings 30 whereby side members 23 of compression lever 20 can extend therethrough thereby enabling said compression lever 20 to operate downwardly to compact newspapers or the like and subsequently, when the bundle is tied, said compression lever 20 can be moved upwardly and thereupon be removed for storage.

Force may be applied to front pressing bar 22 by means of hand or foot pressure. Such pressure as may be required to compact paper or the like is greatly reduced by the utilization of the leverage of side members 23 by the extension of said members 23 through openings 30 in front wall 14 whereby the force applied to front pressing bar 22 is external to body portion 10 and the newspaper themselves, acting as a fulcrum, receive a downward force proportional to the applied force and depending upon the placement of rear ratchet-engaging member 21 below said fulcrum. It is not, however, required that force be applied to compression lever 20 external to body portion 10. It is essential only that compression lever 20 be retained in the compressed state by means of vertical retaining ratchets 25.

A compression lever may, therefore, be used in the subject invention which extends only the width of base 12 and whereupon force is applied at a point within the confines of body portion 10. In such an embodiment vertical openings 30 would not be required. Compression lever 20 is a portable and separate entity which may be foldably or telescopically extendable or may be of unitary construction and thereby be conveniently and easily removed for storage when not in use.

Vertical retaining ratchets are mounted on pivots 26 on the inner surface of front wall 14 between vertical openings 30. Said retaining ratchets 25 have a plurality of teeth 27 on one surface thereof with said teeth slanted at an angle of approximately 45 toward base 12 and with one of each of said retaining ratchets 25 facing toward each end of wall 13.

A spring 28 on the portion of retaining ratchets 25 closest to base 12 provides tension whereby said retaining ratchets will respond to downward pressure by pivoting inwardly toward each other on pivots 26. Pin stops 29 prevent outward rotation of retaining ratchets 25 about pivots 26 and thereby operate to maintain retaining ratchets 25 in a vertical position whereby compression lever 20 can move freely in a downward direction but will remain in the compressed or locked position until released.

Two vertical grooved channels 40 are disposed adjacent and parallel to vertical ratchets 16 along rear wall 15 and continue transversly in .a semicircular path.

' across base 12 and vertically up front wall 14 equidisas rubber, plastic or Tygon and are of a size which will serve to receive and guide twine, wire or other binding material used to tie the compressed bundle of paper.

Two solid hemispherical members made of wood, metal or molded plastic are provided between front wall 14 and rear wall 15 and across base 12 for directional support of grooved channels 40.

In use, newspapers or the like are allowed to accumulate in the bin or body portion of the device until it is desired to tie or bind the accumulated papers into a bundle. Rear ratchet-engaging member 21 of compression lever 20 is engaged within the lowest notch of vertical ratchet 16 which may be conveniently reached consistent with the height of the accumulated papers. The stack of paper is then readily compressed by pressing downward upon front pressing bar 22 with the hand or foot until no further compression occurs. At this point vertical retaining ratchets 25 will automatically retain compression lever 20 leaving the hands free to tie the compressed bundle. Twine, wire or other binding material can be easily slipped through smooth grooved channels 40, or having previously been placed in said channel, is thereupon securely fastened around the bundle.

A means for securing the ends of a strand of wire is shown in FIG. 5 and consists of a peg or rod 50 having a first opening 52 drilled from the base of rod 50 at a 45 angle completely through rod 50 and a second opening 54 drilled from the base of rod 50 at a point approximately opposite opening 52 and at a 45 angle completely through rod 50 but not intersecting the passage of opening 52.

A handle 56 is attached at the end of rod 50 opposite the end of said rod 50 wherein openings 52 and 54 are located. Handle 56 serves to rotate rod 50 in a horizontal plane as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5. Thus, when the two ends of a wire 58 used in binding the bundle of newspapers are inserted into the passages of openings 52 and 54, rod 50 is rotated by means of handle 56 until no slack remains in wire 58 thereby securely binding said newspapers. Rod 50 is then disengaged from wire 58. Compression lever 20 is released by pressing release handles 32 together whereupon the tied bundle can be removed from the bin and thereupon be easily and conveniently transported to a storage or recycle center.

The device embodied by the foregoing description can be moved from place to place by handholds 60 consisting of openings of a size to permit the entrance of the fingers of each hand into end walls 13.

A preferred embodiment of this invention has been set forth in the description and drawings. These descriptions are used in the generic sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Various changes may therefore be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for compacting and bundling paper comprising, a container having a continuous bottom panel, a pair of side wall panels and a pair of end wall panels, said side wall panels and end wall panels attached to said bottom panel and to each other at adjoining corners thereof, at least one first vertical ratchet fixedly mounted to a first end wall panel of said container, said first vertical ratchet provided with a plurality of teeth projecting downwardly from one surface thereof toward the interior of said container, a compression lever having two ends wherein a first end is selectively retained by said first vertical ratchet, at least one spring-activated second vertical ratchet, said second vertical ratchet being pivotally mounted at a lower end onto a second end wall panel, said second vertical ratchet provided with a plurality of downwardly projecting teeth on one surface thereof, said teeth of said second vertical ratchet projecting from one surface thereof at a direction of 90 from the direction of said teeth of said first vertical ratchet whereby a second end of said compression lever is retained in a compressed position,'means for releasing said compression lever from the compressed position, at least one grooved channel around the inner surface of said container wherein twine or wire is placed, a tieing tool wherein the ends of said strand or wire are inserted whereby on rotation of said tieing too] said ends of said strand or wire are twisted together thereby effecting the tieing of bundled paper, whereby after said compression lever is released from the compressed position the tied bundle can be removed from said container.

2. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said teeth of said first vertical ratchet project downwardly at an angle lying between 20 and having a flattened portion on the lower side thereof whereby a first end of said compression lever is retained.

3. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said teeth of said second vertical ratchet project downwardly at an angle lying between 20 and 80, having a flattened portion on the lower side thereof whereby a second end of said com pression lever is retained.

4. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said second vertical ratchet is about said pivot on a lower end.

6. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said grooved channels are lined with a smooth, durable material such as rubber, plastic or Tygon.

7. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said tieing tool comprises a rod having opposing holes drilled at 45 angles through one end thereof and a handle fastened to the other end thereof.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 826 ,186 Dated July 30 1974 Inventor(s) John hler It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet item {76] "Ind." should read Tenn.

Signed and sealed thie 3rd dey bf Deee m bet 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL mum Attesting Officer Comissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 1* us. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE nu 0-366-35.

FORM PC4050 (10-69) 

1. A device for compacting and bundling paper comprising, a container having a continuous bottom panel, a pair of side wall panels and a pair of end wall panels, said side wall panels and end wall panels attached to said bottom panel and to each other at adjoining corners thereof, at least one first vertical ratchet fixedly mounted to a first end wall panel of said container, said first vertical ratchet provided with a plurality of teeth projecting downwardly from one surface thereof toward the interior of said container, a compression lever having two ends wherein a first end is selectively retained by said first vertical ratchet, at least one spring-activated second vertical ratchet, said second vertical ratchet being pivotally mounted at a lower end onto a second end wall panel, said second vertical ratchet provided with a plurality of downwardly projecting teeth on one surface thereof, said teeth of said second vertical ratchet projecting from one surface thereof at a direction of 90* from the direction of said teeth of said first vertical ratchet whereby a second end of said compression lever is retained in a compressed position, means for releasing said compression lever from the compressed position, at least one grooved channel around the inner surface of said container wherein twine or wire is placed, a tieing tool wherein the ends of said strand or wire are inserted whereby on rotation of said tieing tool said ends of said strand or wire are twisted together thereby effecting the tieing of bundled paper, whereby after said compression lever is released from the compressed position the tied bundle can be removed from said container.
 2. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said teeth of said first vertical ratchet project downwardly at an angle lying between 20* and 80* having a flattened portion on the lower side thereof whereby a first end of said compression lever is retained.
 3. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said teeth of said second vertical ratchet project downwardly at an angle lying between 20* and 80*, having a flattened portion on the lower side thereof whereby a second end of said compression lever is retained.
 4. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said second vertical ratchet is maintained in said vertical position by means of a pin stop and a spring located at a lower end whereby tension forces said second vertical ratchet to rotate outwardly about a pivot toward one of said side walls and whereby said compression lever is retained in the compressed position until released.
 5. A device for bundling and compacting paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for releasing said compression lever comprises a handle on an upper end of said pivotally mounted second vertical ratchet whereby said second vertical ratchet may be rotated about said pivot on a lower end.
 6. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said grooved channels are lined with a smooth, durable material such as rubber, plastic or Tygon.
 7. A device for compacting and bundling paper as set forth in claim 1, wherein said tieing tool comprises a rod having opposing holes drilled at 45 angles through one end thereof and a handle fastened to the other end thereof. 